Carl OrffCarmina BuranaOrfeon PamplonesEscolania de Nuestra Senora de los DesamparadosOrquesta de ValenciaAlexander LiebreichSara Blanch, sopranoJoaquin Asiain, tenorAndre Baleiro, baritoneThey are one of the most famous and frequently performed works of classical music: Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". The Latin title refers to a collection of songs from Benediktbeuren dating from the 11th and 12th centuries with texts written in Middle Latin, Old French and Middle High German. Orff chose 24 of these songs, their topics ranging widely from the volatility of happiness and prosperity to the fleeting nature of life, from the joy of the return of spring to the pleasures and dangers of drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, and lust.In June 2024, at the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Orquestra de Valencia, one of the great Spanish symphony orchestras, together with the leading local boys' choir as well as one of Spain's oldest choirs, Orfeon Pamplones, performed this epic work under the musical direction of Alexander Liebreich. They were joined by soloists Sara Blanch, Joaquin Asiain, and Andre Baleiro. The live recording of this lively and captivating concert evening is now available. Recorded live at the Palau de la Música, ValenciaJune 2024 UPC: 4260234833294Label: AccentusRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
SOMM Recordings has had the good fortune to add to it's wide-ranging catalogue the "extraordinary voices" (BBC Radio 3) of the all-female a cappella vocal quintet Papagena these past few years. Formed in 2015, the ensemble is made up of sopranos: Elizabeth Drury, Imogen Ram-Prasad, and Suzzie Vango; mezzo: Shivani Rattan; and alto: Sarah Tenant-Flowers. What distinguishes Papagena is their gloriously adventurous programming, which defies pigeonholing: medieval, classical, folk, and contemporary music from around the world, juxtaposed with repertoire from Hildegard of Bingen to Katy Perry and all points in between. Papagena's debut album, Nuns and Roses, was self-released in 2017. Their second, The Darkest Midnight, was released in 2018 by SOMM. Selected as MusicWeb International's Recording of the Month, it reached No.6 in the classical charts and No.1 in Amazon's classical download chart. In 2020, Papagena's second release with SOMM was Hush!, a Recommended Recording by MusicWeb International, which was praised by John Quinn as "another winner from Papagena. More, please!" SOMM is happy to oblige. SOMM's third collaboration with Papagena is Tomorrow is Today: Songs of love, beauty and the passing of time. As an example of the unique diversity of their programming, this new collection opens with a set of four songs that are united by ideas of love in various guises. The Gallant Weaver with words by Robert Burns tells of the sincere love of a humble girl for her weaver. Sì Ch'io Vorrei Morire (Yes, I should wish to die), a madrigal by Claudio Monteverdi, deals with passionate sexual attraction. Oy Khodyt Son (Oh, sleep is coming) is a traditional Ukrainian melody about love within a family unit. Kaval Sviri (The Flute is Playing) is a traditional Bulgarian song of coquettish flirtation.A sampling of other highlights from this release includes Henry Purcell's Music for a while from his incidental music for John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee's 1692 play Oedipus. Holi, in a setting by Papagena's mezzo-soprano Shivani Rattan, is an Indian celebration song. The motet, Sicut lilium, is attributed to Leonora d'Este, a daughter of Lucrezia Borgia. From a collection of the earliest surviving examples of polyphonic music written in English, is the carol, Ther is no rose. The title song Tomorrow is Today, commissioned by Papagena from Janet Wheeler with a text by the composer's daughter Sarah Cattley, is subtitled Dawn Chorus, and is filled with bird references reflecting the ensemble's name of the bird-catcher's wife in Mozart's Magic Flute. Dolce Cantavi, written in the style of an Italian madrigal by American Caroline Shaw, also contains allusions of birdsong, natural beauty, and the dawning hope of love; while in Welcome somer, the Canadian composer Don Macdonald partners Chaucer's text with music that references medieval rhythms within a more contemporary harmonic idiom. UPC: 748871072121Label: Somm RecordingsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
The award-winning vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher and theinternationally acclaimed pianist Danae Dorken present their new album 'Glass Two' - an impressive musical homage to one of the most influential composers of our time: Philip Glass. Their unusual instrumentation for piano and vibraphone creates an unrivaled sound world that brings Glass' minimalist worksto life in a new and refreshing way.At the heart of the album are original interpretations of Glass' compositions, complemented by Schumacher's own works. These pieces, inspired by personalities who influenced the American composer, such as the poet Allen Ginsberg or the sculptor Richard Serra, form a unique fusion of two musical worlds. This fusion creates a profound and multifaceted, yet reduced and clear atmosphere. Pascal Schumacher and Danae Dorken impressively demonstrate that less is sometimes more: Their artfully crafted arrangements are characterised by a fascinating transparency that captures the essence of minimalistmusic. The result is a captivating listening experience that allows the colors and textures of Glass' works to shine in a new light and interact harmoniously with Schumacher's own compositions. The album will be released on the Neue Meister label on CD and vinyl on 8 November 2024 and is an indispensable discovery for all lovers of modern classical music. Immerse yourself in the soundscapes of 'Glass Two' and experience a musical journey that inspires both in it's reduction and diversity UPC: 885470034843Label: Neue MeisterRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
Born in Budapest in 1975 and based in Germany, composer Marton Illes studied with Detlev Muller-Siemens and Wolfgang Rihm. In 2020, he composed the violin concerto Vont-ter for Patricia Kopatchinskaja, a long-time partner who performs his music with total commitment: "She gives the impression that music can be tactile, truly three-dimensional, to the point that you could almost touch it, that each gesture has it's own colour, temperature, smell, taste," says Illes. Sirt-ter, "space filled with tears", is a cello concerto: "I make it moan, scream or even roar hysterically in order to draw out the vocal qualities capable of communicating human pain." In Nicolas Altstaedt, "I found the ideal performer, who grasps the dark drama of this subject with existential intuition and makes it resonate with primitive force." Rajzok I consists of tuning the strings of 24 instruments to different quarter-tone intervals. A very unusual and fascinating total scordatura... In Three Sketches, electronic music blends with the sound of the violin, multiplying the sensations and sound textures. Fascinated by the human psyche and the processes that take place in the human body, Illes develops music that lives, speaks and breathes. UPC: 3701624512210Label: AlphaRelease Date: 4.3.26Format: CD
Steve Elcock - UK-born (in 1957) but long since based in France - was recently hailed by a fellow composer in the American magazine Fanfare as 'the greatest living symphonist'. All eleven of those he has composed to date are, in various ways, concerned with the large-scale accumulation and dissipation of tension, rather in the manner of the later Nielsen symphonies - the half-hour span of his Fourth Symphony also reconciling tonality and atonality in it's wild and energetic arch. Elcock is fond of bringing popular elements into his music, and elements of folk-dance duly animate his Viola Concerto. These major works are book-ended here by two big-hearted orchestral showpieces that could become audience favourites in the fullness of time UPC: 5060113447784Label: ToccataRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
This two-album Signum Classics release presents Ludwig van Beethoven's five cello sonatas, performed by cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Alessio Bax. The works were composed over a wide period and illustrate Beethoven's early, middle and late styles, from the Op. 5 sonatas written during his 1796 Berlin visit, through the A major Sonata Op. 69 from the period of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, to the Op. 102 sonatas marking the beginning of his final creative phase. Recorded in December 2024 at Cedars Hall, Wells, the set reflects close collaboration between cello and piano and Beethoven's evolving formal and expressive concerns. UPC: 635212096925Label: Signum ClassicsRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Maciej Kabza (*1990): Szczescie Happiness: cycle of songs for high voice and piano to words by Julian TuwimEight songs by an award-winning composer explore the timeless question: what is happiness? Set to the evocative poetry of Julian Tuwim, the texts approach the theme from unexpected angles, while the music captures a rich and wide-ranging emotional landscape. Contemporary vocal techniques and an intricate, highly expressive interplay between voice and piano create a compelling musical dialogue, giving both performers the opportunity to showcase their artistry, versatility, and technical brilliance. UPC: 5902547021652Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
The Percussion Collective, under the artistic guidance of Robert van Sice, presents the album Seaborne, an extraordinary journey across the ocean where music and imagery converge to reveal the sea in all it's wonder. From the soaring aerial vistas of Mauritius to the sunlit waters of Hawai'i, composer Garth Neustadter and video artist Kjell van Sice transform the natural world into a living, breathing presence. The work's three movements - Above, At, and Within - explore the ocean from sky, surface, and depths, blending dynamic percussion, piano, marimbas, vibraphones, and haunting vocalises to evoke the sea's beauty, turbulence, and mystery.This immersive collaboration goes beyond mere portraiture, offering a meditation on humanity's relationship with the ocean. As waves rise, swell, and calm, listeners are invited to witness the fragile coexistence between life and water, and to reflect on the profound power of our planet's greatest resource. UPC: 8717306265256Label: PentatoneRelease Date: 5.29.26Format: CD
Clarinettist Peter Cigleris is adding another gem to the SOMM catalogue less than a year after the release of his Clarinet Concertos (with symphonic band) [SOMMCD 0705, October 2025], which featured two world-premiere recordings and was roundly praised by Gramophone's Guy Rickards: "Cigleris is possessed of a beautifully mellifluous tone. A hugely varied, enjoyable programme, then, superbly played and recorded; enjoy!" For this release, Cigleris again offers concertante works, and again two first-ever recordings, but here the tutti forces, rather than winds, are the luminous strings of the London Mozart Players led by John Andrews.The trio of composers is British, and along with Gerald Finzi, whose Clarinet Concerto is justly beloved, come two others keenly deserving of the light this recording sheds on their music. The three works, all composed in the late 40s, are bound together by the common thread of the eminent English clarinettist Frederick Thurston (1901-1953).Denis ApIvor (1916-2004), born in Ireland to Welsh parents, was a chorister at Christ Church, Oxford and then at Hereford Cathedral, where he also studied clarinet, piano and organ. As a teenaged medical student he heard the English premiere of Wozzeck under Sir Adrian Boult and his musical inspiration was renewed, leading to private composition lessons with Patrick Hadley and Alan Rawsthorne. While there is a later version of his Concertante for clarinet orchestrated for an ensemble featuring full strings, harp and celesta, Peter Cigleris opens this album with ApIvor's original chamber version for piano and two percussionists (one on timpani). This early work was conceived during the composer's wartime posting to India, and the premiere (with Frederick Thurston) was given in London after two years of peace, a repeat performance going out live on the BBC Third Programme on 27 January 1948. This recording, the work's first, shows an already impressive thread of musical argument and masterly writing from a 30-year old ApIvor, who would reach the peak of his success some eight years later with his score for the Royal Ballet's Lorca-inspired Blood Wedding.Many who know the name Freda Swain (1902-1985) will think of pedagogical piano solos and be surprised to learn of the Portsmouth native's catalogue of 450 or so serious works including large-scale operatic, orchestral and concertante music as well as varied chamber pieces, all regrettably neglected for too long. Presented here in it's premiere recording, Swain's "Lumine naturi" Concertino for Clarinet is an expressive work in language that draws on tonality yet is highly individual and sweepingly melodic. The genre-title's Italian diminutive belies concerto-worthy length (24 mins) and thematic substance. Each movement bears an epigraph by Algernon Blackwood evoking an ultra-vivid natural scene, hence the Latin epithet: "By the Light of Nature". Though Swain never published the work, it is likely that the tutti of string orchestra anchored by a lone horn accompanies a clarinet part intended for Frederick Thurston, a frequent collaborator and the dedicatee of her Rhapsody for clarinet and piano.Thurston did play the premiere of Gerald Finzi's (1901-1956) Concerto for Clarinet and Strings at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival on 9Â September 1949, and the masterpiece has deservedly become the composer's most frequently heard concert work. UPC: 748871072220Label: Somm RecordingsRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
All the works recorded here were composed between 1825 and 1835, when Mendelssohn was aged between sixteen and twenty-six. He spent much of this decade travelling, from Berlin to Paris via Weimar, then London and Scotland before work in Dusseldorf eventually led to his appointment as municipal musical director and conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. The Piano Sonata in E major and that in B flat major, and indeed the Phantasie (subtitled Sonate ecossaise), owe some debt to Beethoven, but are also influenced by Weber, Hummel, and Moscheles (to whom the Phantasie was dedicated). The two shorter works (Scherzo à capriccio and Capriccio) perhaps show a more relaxed side of the composer, free from the constraints of sonata form. Liszt's virtuosic re-working of themes from A Midsummer Night's Dream completes the programme. Born in Manchester in 1953, Peter Donohoe studied at Chetham's School of Music for seven years, graduated in music from the University of Leeds, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham, and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility, and commanding technique. UPC: 0095115234723Label: ChandosRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
Kip Winger is a genre-bridging composer with a long and successful career in rock music. His celebrated ballet score Conversations with Nijinsky led conductor Giancarlo Guerrero to commission the two works on this album. Weaving four floriographical meanings into the musical arc, In the Language of Flowers is a violin concerto that celebrates a love story "no words could adequately express." Symphony of the Returning Light sits in the tradition of autobiographical fantasies stretching back to Berlioz. The symphony incorporates the use of Morse code rhythms, and is centered around the theme of atonement. UPC: 636943992128Label: NaxosRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
In May 2026 Metier Records is proud to present Michael Hersch's monumental chamber work Zwischen Leben und Tod (Between Life and Death) performed by violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved and pianist Roderick Chadwick, marking the label debut of one of the most gifted composers of his generation. Hersch's music has been described by The New York Times as "viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative music.claustrophobic and exhilarating at once, with moments of sublime beauty nestled inside thickets of dark virtuosity". In January this year he was selected as the inaugural recipient of the John Hopkins University Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome.Zwischen Leben und Tod is a startling yet moving 22-movement cycle for violin and piano written in inspiration of paintings by the surrealist German artist, writer and filmmaker Peter Weiss, each movement corresponding to a particular image. It's duration of 100 minutes makes it one of the longest works for violin and piano. Peter Weiss was best known as a playwright of searing and often disturbing stage dramas, including Marat/Sade which features the assassination of French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat in an asylum-set play by the Marquis de Sade. Weiss's little-known paintings and drawings share many of the same characteristics, featuring loneliness, violence and grief (themes of asylums, war, prisons, cannibalism) but also deeply meditative imagery (a string quartet, a garden concert, a boy in the grounds of a country house). Hersch found Weiss's spectrum of colour and motion, of proportion and spacing, particularly musical, and Zwischen Leben und Tod makes a deep and visceral engagement with these same explorations. The result is a complex, rich and multi-layered work featuring extremes of tempi, dynamics and technique making enormous physical demands on the performers, while being hugely rewarding. Much of the music is disturbing and raw, but the overall effect is affecting, offering the listener moments of solace. In David Hackbridge Johnson's fabulous booklet notes he says "The little modal chord figures, the open strings that plaintively grate over them, the wisps of folk song, the lullaby figures - all these are a welcome balm to sooth the sores of an atrocity exhibition. What tenderness amid the haunted landscapes!.. Despite these scenes of peril, after over 90 minutes between living and dying in Hersch and Weiss's world, a curiously cathartic sense is achieved; a procession of bleak images in sound that somehow resist despair." Violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved has known and collaborated closely with Michael Hersch for over twenty years, and this is their first recording together. His performance here alongside that of pianist Roderick Chadwick is hugely expressive, displaying extraordinary virtuosity.Michael Hersch is professor of composition at the Peabody Institute and is a composer of "uncompromising brilliance" (The Washington Post). His output includes opera, theatre, chamber, vocal and orchestral works, performed across Europe and the US, including UK premieres at the Aldeburgh Festival and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He is the recipient of many prizes and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship in Composition, both the Berlin Prize and Rome Prize, the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, and the President's Frontier Award from the John Hopkins University. UPC: 809730721328Label: MetierRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Petter Udland Johansen has been known for years as an exceptional interpreter of early music. With his distinctive voice and keen sense of style and text interpretation, he has made a name for himself as a specialist in repertoire from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. Now he is opening a new chapter: on his album Where Is Love, the versatile singer turns his attention for the first time to the great songs of the American Songbook timeless classics by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and other masters. Johansen is joined by Christian Gutfleisch, his ideal musical partner at the piano. Gutfleisch performs on a Bluthner grand piano from 1910, whose warm, velvety tone forms a poetic bridge between past and present. The instrument seems to carry within it the sound world of the very era in which many of these songs were written - while offering an abundance of color and intimacy that perfectly suits the duo's chamber-like approach. UPC: 4262353970928Label: Prospero ClassicalRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Santtu conducts Shostakovich: Moscow Cheryomushki and Symphony No. 1 is the seventh album from Philharmonia Records. Led by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, these performances were recorded live at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, where they are resident. The Philharmonia Orchestra has an extensive legacy of recording the music of Shostakovich, and in this latest release it's Principal Conductor brings his own distinctive energy, precision, and flair to two contrasting masterpieces: the sharp-witted exuberance of Moscow Cheryomushki and the youthful brilliance of the First Symphony. UPC: 635212099025Label: Signum ClassicsRelease Date: 6.5.26Format: CD
This new album presents three major orchestral works by British composer William Mival, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins. Spanning two decades, the album features the expansive new symphony Vale, the contemplative Tristan - still, and the Welsh-themed Pluen (feather). Together, they trace Mival's engagement with tradition and landscape. From the concentrated focus of Tristan - still to the folk-song variations of Pluen and the broad, five-movement design of Vale, the recording offers a clear overview of Mival's approach to writing for large forces. UPC: 635212097724Label: Signum ClassicsRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
Richard Strauss summed up his two-act opera Intermezzo as a 'bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes'. The soprano role of Christine with it's shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss's wife Pauline, while the successful Kapellmeister Robert Storch serves as Richard Strauss himself in a domestic drama that was avant-garde for it's time but now resonates with the accessibility of today's reality shows. This production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin was acclaimed for it's lush orchestral sound and superbly characterful cast led by a formidable central performance from Maria Bengtsson. UPC: 730099058476Label: NaxosRelease Date: 6.12.26Format: CD
With Charlotte! Adieu!, guitarist Philipp Schmidt dedicates his album to the young musician Charlotte Beslay (nee Levavasseur), a student of Fernando Sor and a talented pianist whose playing is said to have impressed even Rossini. Her early death in 1835 - she died at the age of only about twenty while giving birth to her son - left a deep impression on Sor. In moving memory of her, he composed the Fantaisie elegiaque, Op. 59, whose conclusion bears the words 'Charlotte! Adieu!': a musical farewell full of sincerity and sorrow. In addition to this central work, the album presents selected etudes, lecons, and character pieces from Op. 6, Op. 29, Op. 31, and Op. 35, as well as the meditative miniature Le Calme, Op. 50, and the virtuoso Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 9. On a historical Romantic guitar, Philipp Schmidt allows Sor's music to shine anew in it's original clarity, warmth, and poetic expressiveness. UPC: 4260052386965Label: Ars ProduktionRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
On 17 April 2026, Divine Art is delighted to present France Revisited, Vol. 2, the second volume of French music for piano four hands from Piano A Deux, the husband and wife team of Robert and Linda Stoodley. France Revisited, Vol.2 includes Gabriel Faure's Dolly Suite, George Onslow's Sonata No.2 in F Minor, Op 22, and the Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 by Franz Liszt, arranged for four hands by Franz Bendel with new cadenzas by Piano A Deux - this is the premiere recording.Faure's Dolly Suite is a charming set of six duets for four hands, written for the daughter of Emma Bardac, who eventually married Debussy. The Suite was often re-visited by Faure, and in 1906 was arranged for orchestra by Henri Rabaud. The piano duets were first premeired by Alfred Cortot and edouard Risler in 1898.Born in France but of English descent, George Onslow's music found approval from elites like Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, being crowned the "French Beethoven" by his publisher and other contemporaries, although later falling out of favour. During their research into less well-known composers, Piano A Deux discovered Onslow's duet sonatas in a dusty library drawer. The Opus 7 Duo Sonata was recorded for the first volume of France Revisited and the Sonata No.2 in F Minor, Opus 22 is heard in this second volume. Given many performances by Chopin and Liszt, it is conceived on a grand scale, symphonic in structure and reflects the Beethovenian aspects of Onslow's style. Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 is probably one of the best-known solo pieces in the piano repertoire, from a composer who stands like a colossus in the pianist world, crossing geographical boundaries. Piano A Deux have taken Bendel's arrangement for four hands, adapted it and written their own cadenzas, returning the piece to it's virtuosic persona.An adventurous piano duo with a wide repertoire which includes major classical works and their original arrangements from the world of opera, film and musical theatre, Piano A Deux have performed in countries like Singapore, Italy, Germany and Finland to standing ovations. Meanwhile their concerts on cruise ships have won them a large following of seasoned concertgoers as well as new audiences who are delighted by their unique themed programs, exquisite music-making and charisma blended with humour."Novel programming presented with charm, humour and drama, combined with their original arrangements has won them many fans worldwide. Surprisingly, Robert & Linda met online, not through music. They married in 2008 and "Piano A Deux" was formed in 2010. Piano A Deux have been hailed as being worthy of taking on the mantle of longtime Divine Art recording artists Goldstone and Clemmow, a duo whose career was aborted by the untimely death of Anthony Goldstone. Their playing in 'France Revisited' Vol 1 was praised as "piano four hands... at it's very best.." UPC: 809730114229Label: Divine ArtRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, one of today's most visionary pianists, presents the second book of Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a cornerstone of the piano repertoire. Following his acclaimed interpretation of Book I (released on Deutsche Grammophon in 2014), Aimard brings his signature clarity, insight, and depth to this second collection of 24 Preludes and Fugues, exploring Bach's extraordinary harmonic and contrapuntal imagination. With a lifelong dedication to both early and contemporary music, Aimard approaches the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II not merely as a historical masterpiece but as a vibrant and endlessly inventive work. His performance highlights Bach's ability to blend expressive lyricism with intellectual rigor, creating a deeply engaging and illuminating listening experience.A renowned champion of twentieth-century music, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has released multiple acclaimed albums in his exclusive contract with PENTATONE, including Messiaen's Catalogue d'Oiseaux (2018) and Visions de l'Amen (2022), along with Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata & Eroica Variations (2021). He also joined Tamara Stefanovich in Etudes and Frames (2023), with music by Vassos Nicolaou, recorded Bartok's Piano Concertos with the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen (2023), Schubert: Landler (2024), and Kurtag: Jatekok (2025).
Tracklist:
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 870
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 871
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 871
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 872
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 873
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV 874
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 874
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 875
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 875
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 876
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 8 in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 877
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 879
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 10 in E Minor, BWV 879
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 11 in F Major, BWV 880
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 12 in F Minor, BWV 881
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 13 in F-Sharp Major, BWV 882
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 883
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 16 in G Minor, BWV 885
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major, BWV 886
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, BWV 887
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 19 in A Major, BWV 888
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 19 in A Major, BWV 888
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 889
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 21 in B-Flat Major, BWV 890
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 21 in B-Flat Major, BWV 890
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 22 in B-Flat Minor, BWV 891
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 23 in B Major, BWV 892
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Prelude No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2~Fugue No. 24 in B Minor, BWV 893
UPC: 8717306264624Label: PentatoneRelease Date: 10.24.25Format: CD
Philip Cashian (born Manchester, 1963) is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British music, widely recognised for a style that combines rhythmic urgency with luminous harmonic writing. His music has been described as "an uncompromising reflection of the modern world," characterised by tightly worked motivic ideas, striking instrumental colour, and a constant tension between propulsion and stillness.Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Oliver Knussen and Simon Bainbridge, and later with Lukas Foss at Tanglewood, Cashian has developed a language that is both intellectually rigorous and immediately physical in it's impact. This recording brings together key chamber and concertante works spanning nearly three decades, framed by the two Chamber Concertos (1995 and 2024), written twenty-nine years apart. Both pieces explore the rich possibilities of instrumental combination within a chamber ensemble, giving prominence to extended solo lines and concertante groupings. Between them appear two more intimate works: Dances and Nocturnes (2020), a single-movement piano quartet alternating kinetic rhythmic energy with reflective, nocturnal stillness, and The Distance of Night (2022), a restrained and deeply expressive solo piano work written in memory of Simon Bainbridge.Throughout the programme, Cashian's music reveals a fascination with visual art-particularly mid-20th-century British abstraction-as well as a highly refined sense of form and drama. The result is a compelling portrait of a composer whose music is at once rigorous, vivid, and emotionally direct. UPC: 8436597701150Label: Ibs ClassicalRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
Philip Cashian (born Manchester, 1963) is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British music, widely recognised for a style that combines rhythmic urgency with luminous harmonic writing. His music has been described as "an uncompromising reflection of the modern world," characterised by tightly worked motivic ideas, striking instrumental colour, and a constant tension between propulsion and stillness.Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Oliver Knussen and Simon Bainbridge, and later with Lukas Foss at Tanglewood, Cashian has developed a language that is both intellectually rigorous and immediately physical in it's impact. This recording brings together key chamber and concertante works spanning nearly three decades, framed by the two Chamber Concertos (1995 and 2024), written twenty-nine years apart. Both pieces explore the rich possibilities of instrumental combination within a chamber ensemble, giving prominence to extended solo lines and concertante groupings. Between them appear two more intimate works: Dances and Nocturnes (2020), a single-movement piano quartet alternating kinetic rhythmic energy with reflective, nocturnal stillness, and The Distance of Night (2022), a restrained and deeply expressive solo piano work written in memory of Simon Bainbridge.Throughout the programme, Cashian's music reveals a fascination with visual art-particularly mid-20th-century British abstraction-as well as a highly refined sense of form and drama. The result is a compelling portrait of a composer whose music is at once rigorous, vivid, and emotionally direct. UPC: 8436597701167Label: Ibs ClassicalRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
This album brings together works written primarily in the final decade of the 19th century, showcasing the rich tradition of vocal and instrumental lyricism. The Belle Époque was an era defined by the pursuit of beauty of sound, expressive phrasing, dynamic contrast, and effortless virtuosity-all qualities that shine throughout this recording.The Sopot chamber musicians once again demonstrate their exceptional tonal refinement, including in songs performed alongside Karolina Sikora, whose velvety, noble mezzo-soprano adds depth and elegance to the program. Released on both CD and vinyl, the album is a true treat for listeners who appreciate a deep, warm, and immersive sound experience. UPC: 5902547022178Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 5.1.26Format: CD
This two-disc album brings together archival recordings of works composed over a span of 43 years. Performed by outstanding artists, the collection invites listeners on a journey through the stylistic transformations of 20th- and 21st-century music as reflected in the output of one of Poland's most eminent composers-from early avant-garde, sonoristic experiments to a deeply personal renewal of traditional musical languages. Excerpts from symphonies, chamber works, piano and cello concertos, and songs offer just a glimpse into a rich creative legacy, in which refined form becomes a powerful vehicle for emotional expression. UPC: 5902547020778Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 5.1.26Format: CD
This is the first album in the discography of the National Wind Orchestra in Lubin, an ensemble founded in 2019. It features works by composers regarded among the most important contemporary creators of music for wind orchestra. Among them are also authors who write music for film, television, and advertising, which is reflected in numerous illustrative motifs that stimulate the imagination.The compositions reveal the immense sonic and expressive potential of the symphonic wind orchestra, transporting listeners into a fantastical world inspired by colors, the seasons, underwater life, and the magical scenery of the mountains. The music is aesthetically rooted in the tradition of sweeping film suites, where powerful brass fanfares intertwine with subtle woodwind motifs, enriched by the sound of harp and percussion instruments.Joyful, lively themes in Hounds of Springs, the dramatic chase in Ride, and the gentle, carefree mood of Whispers from Beyond together form a colorful kaleidoscope of emotions and impressions. Under the baton of Sebastian Perlowski, the National Wind Orchestra in Lubin captivates with it's sound, energy, technical virtuosity, and an excellent sense of style at the intersection of classical and film music. UPC: 5902547021522Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Acclaimed composer and pianist Poppy Ackroyd returns with ‘Liminal’, her intimate new album released June 19th via One Little Independent Records. Written and recorded during a period of profound upheaval and transition, it marks a return to the core of Ackroyd’s practice, bringing piano and violin back together. ‘Continuum’ develops through gradual layering, with interlocking piano motifs and sustained violin tones creating a feeling of forward momentum. The music breathes and expands, drawing attention to small changes in texture and dynamics.
Tracklist:
In the Mist
Shimmer
Continuum
For Those Who Wait
Unknown
Drift
Weightless
Between Two Worlds
UPC: 5016958110352Label: One Little IndependentRelease Date: 6.19.26Format: CD
A powerful symphony by Zygmunt Stojowski that propelled the composer onto the international stage. Dazzling orchestration, soaring melodies, and an adventurous harmonic language place the work at the crossroads of late Romantic intensity and emerging Modernist boldness-music that was unjustly neglected in concert programs for generations. Under the dynamic leadership of Lukasz Borowicz, the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra makes a compelling case for this forgotten masterpiece, delivering a performance of sweeping momentum, dramatic impact, and striking expressive range that restores the symphony to it's rightful place in the repertoire. UPC: 5902547021911Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Stradivari Classics - The World's Great Music, Captured at it's Finest
Tracklist:
Promenade
Gnomus
Promenade
The Old Castle
Promenade
Tuileries
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet of the Chickens in Their Shells
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
The Marketplace at Limoges
Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum)
Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua
The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba Yaga)
The Great Gate at Kiev
Night on the Bald Mountain
Marche Slave, Op. 31
UPC: 699246656708Label: Hindsight RecordsRelease Date: 5.22.26Format: CD
Live recording of a concert from St. Georgen am Längsee Abbey in Carinthia on June 28, 2003: La Festa presents virtuoso Italian Baroque music with works by Monteverdi and Caccini, combined with traditional tarantellas. Passionate and extraordinarily lively, the Accordone ensemble, led by singer Marco Beasley and harpsichordist Guido Morini, conjures up the spirit of a 17th-century festival. A rousing recording full of improvisational flashes of genius! UPC: 4260307432935Label: Fra BernardoRelease Date: 7.17.26Format: CD
On 14 August 2026, Divine Art is delighted to present The Complete Piano Music of Anthony Hedges (1931-2019) Vol 1, the first of three albums from British pianist Adam Davies presenting the entirety of this prolific composer's concert music for piano. This first volume documents a thirty-year maturation showcasing the full breadth and diversity of Hedges' creative output, starting with the earliest of the published piano pieces, the Five Preludes of 1959, fresh with youthful energy and verve, and ending with the bright and evocative Five Aphorisms of 1990. Between these sit two weighty centrepieces marking important stylistic departures: Four Short Pieces, his gritty foray into serialism, and the bold intensity of the First Sonata. Interspersed with these are delightful miniatures written for budding pianists, reflecting the composer's pianistic skill and facility in writing for younger musicians. This music is colourful, rich in it's allusions, and expertly crafted. Many of these works are being recorded for the first time. Adam Davies first encountered the music of Anthony Hedges in his youth and saw the composer himself in performance, as he grew up in Beverley, East Yorkshire, also by then Hedges' home. He rediscovered the composer during COVID after finding his own long-neglected score of Ten Bagatelles Op.156, gifted from his boyhood singing teacher, and was reminded of the quality and accessibility of the writing. Such was his enjoyment of these pieces, and his surprise at the relative lack of recordings of Hedges' music, that he resolved to record the complete piano music. Anthony Hedges' daughter Fiona provided the scores and private recordings of many of these works by the composer himself: 'Listening to these works proved to be a liberating experience he played like a composer: perhaps not with note-perfect Polish, but with crystal-clear imagination, purpose, character, and expression permeating every note and phrase.I have tried to convey something of his essence in these recordings, which I hope will serve to bring wider attention to this richly deserving repertoire.' The album is financially supported by the Ida Carroll Trust.Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and critic Anthony Hedges was born in the town of Bicester and educated at Oxford, where his broad musical activity included singing in the Oxford Bach Choir under the batons of such luminaries as Vaughan Williams and Constant Lambert. During his National Service (1955-57), he worked as pianist and arranger for the Royal Signals Band. He taught at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow and later at Hull University, where he became a Reader and earned his Honorary Doctorate, also during that time meeting poet Philip Larkin and setting his words to music. As well as a weekly column for the Glasgow Herald, he contributed reviews and interviews for the Guardian, the Scotsman, and other publications. His expansive output covers all genres, including popular and frequently broadcasted lighter works for brass band and orchestra.Pianist Adam Davies was born in Manchester and raised in Beverley, East Yorkshire, where he had the opportunity to hear Anthony Hedges at the piano several times. Davies was educated at the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers were John Gough and Dr. Murray McLachlan. Adam performs throughout the UK as a recital and concerto soloist and teaches at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester. In 2019, he commissioned and gave the world premiere of Tom Harrold's Crux, and he has performed as duo partner with Kathryn Stott. UPC: 809730113925Label: Divine ArtRelease Date: 8.14.26Format: CD
"Black Mountains" features original compositions by Alexej Gerassimez and Gordon Hamilton, who also conducts this recording with the NDR Radiophilharonie. The program explores the dynamic interplay between orchestral sound and percussion with a highlight being the work "Leviathan" by John Psathas - a powerful composition for percussion and orchestra, written specifically for Alexej Gerassimez. UPC: 885470044767Label: Berlin ClassicsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
